Vehicles are commonly provided with lamp assemblies in order to increase visibility. Lamp assemblies may also find utility in communicating actions of the driver such as braking, backing-up, and turning to other drivers on the road. It is known to employ light emitting diodes (LEDs) in lamp assemblies on vehicles for purposes of illumination.
LEDs in lamp assemblies are typically driven through the use of a resistor drive. This arrangement has the tendency to produce poor light output at low voltages and may cause excessive heat production at higher input voltages. Certain challenges exist in the design of lamp assemblies employing this type of driving scheme in that the housing may not be sufficiently sized or configured to accommodate the excessive heat generation. Further, the LEDs may not be adequately protected from over-current should a resistor drive be utilized.
Although it is known to apply a current source to protect the LEDs from over-current in the design of lamp assemblies, there remains room for variation and improvement within the art.